Tag: Food

Canadian Beef Recall Expands. So Does The Outbreak

Almost daily, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) releases another update to the list of recalled beef products that originated from XL Foods’ Brooks (Alberta) establishment. The agency has posted a complete list of recalled products, sorted by retailer.

Today, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported that the number of confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to consumption of products from XL Foods has increased to ten people in three provinces: Alberta (7 illnesses), Newfoundland and Labrador (1 case) and Quebec (2 cases). In addition, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health is investigating 13 cases of E. coli in that province – all reported in September – to determine whether or not they are linked to the recalled meat. Saskatchewan ordinarily experiences from zero to four cases of E. coli illnesses during the month of September.

CFIA has suspended operations at XL’s Brooks facility. The recalls have been issued. But the damage already has been done. Beef from the plant was distributed all across Canada, and was exported to the USA and to Hong Kong. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Agency issued a Public Health Alert four days after the first XL-announced recall, and updated that alert a couple of times, but has NOT provided consumers with any information – beyond a list of affected retailers – on the list of products that were distributed in the USA.

On October 5th, FSIS updated its Public Health Alert to indicated that approximately 1.1 million pounds of trim and approximately 1.4 million pounds of primal and sub-primal cuts of beef from XL Foods were received by US firms. Two and a half million pounds – that’s 1,250 tons – of beef that is “floating around” in the US, with no information provided to consumers as to what meat to avoid.

The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety posted the following notice yesterday (October 5, 2012):

Import of contaminated raw beef from a Canadian food company suspended

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (October 5) announced that as the Canadian authority found some raw beef and beef products manufactured by XL Foods Inc there contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, the CFS would suspend import of those products produced on and after August 24 by the manufacturer concerned with immediate effect as a precaution.

The CFS was notified by the Canadian authority that the manufacturer was recalling the affected raw beef and beef products, and part of the raw beef had been imported into Hong Kong. According to CFS’ initial investigations, a small portion of the products had been distributed to some local retailers.

“The CFS has alerted the trade and instructed the importer and distributors concerned to stop selling and start recalling the products of the affected batches,” a CFS spokesman said.

Consumption of contaminated food (often raw meat or meat not thoroughly cooked and fresh agricultural produce) is the common mode of transmission for E. coli O157:H7. Pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, young children and the elderly are most at risk for developing serious complications like bloody diarrhoea.

The spokesman reminded the public not to consume hamburgers, minced beef, and other meat that are not thoroughly cooked to minimise the risk of infection by E. coli O157:H7. They should wash thoroughly and cook ground beef and hamburgers to a core temperature of 70 degrees Celsius or above for at least two minutes.

More information about how to prevent E.coli O157:H7 infection is available on CFS’ website:

www.cfs.gov.hk/english/consumer_zone/foodsafety_bh_E_Coli.html.

“We will continue liaising with the Canadian authorities and closely monitor the situation. Relevant control measures will be reviewed when further information is obtained,” the spokesman said.

There has been no indication yet of any US or Hong Kong cases of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to the consumption of the XL Foods beef products.

eFoodAlert is working to update its consolidated list of beef products recalled in Canada and the USA and will continue to monitor and report on the outbreak situation. Please consult the Canada/USA Beef Recall page for more information.

Recalls and Alerts: October 3, 2012

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

For current information on retail distribution of peanut butter products recalled due to Salmonella Bredeney, please consult the Trader Joe’s/Sunland Peanut Butter Recalls tab.

For current information on retail distribution of beef products containing Canadian beef recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination please consult the Canada/USA Beef Recall tab.

United States

  • Food Safety Recall: Whole Foods Market recalls Ricotta Salata cheese supplied by Forever Cheese Inc. (Long Island City, NY) and sold in Whole Foods Market stores in 21 states and Washington, DC, because the cheese may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Ricotta Salata Frescolina brand cheese was cut into wedges, packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label using PLU 293427. All “sell by” dates through Oct. 2 are affected. Fourteen illnesses have been reported which may be associated with the Frescolina recall. In the four stores that sold it in California and Arizona, the recalled cheese was also sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label that read “Mitica Ricotta Salada,” and with Whole Foods Market scale labels with PLU 294413. All “sell by” dates through Oct. 2 are affected. States affected by the recall include: Alabama (1 store), Arizona (2 stores), California (2 stores), Colorado(2 stores), Florida (5 stores), Georgia (4 stores), Kansas (1 store), Kentucky (1 store), Maryland (6 stores), North Carolina (7 stores), New Jersey (2 stores), New Mexico (2 stores), New York (2 stores), Ohio (2 stores), Oregon (6 stores), Pennsylvania (5 stores), South Carolina (1 store), Tennessee (3 stores), Utah (1 store), Virginia (6 stores), Washington (6 stores), and Washington, D.C. (3 stores).
  • Food Safety Recall: Gretchen’s Shoebox Express (Seattle, WA) recalls Starbucks Protein Bistro Box (6.80 oz; UPC 762111881502; Enjoy By 09/02/12-09/27/12), because the Bistro Boxes contain a recalled peanut butter pouch that may be contaminated with Salmonella. the recalled product was distributed in Washington and Oregon.
  • Food Safety Recall: Whole Foods Market recalls Chicken Spring Rolls (UPC 225757203997; Sell by 10/1 or 10/2) and Peanut Sesame Noodles (UPC 222099604192; either a sold on date of 9/27 or 9/28 or a sell by date of 10/1 or 10/2), because the products contain peanuts that may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products were sold from the Whole Foods Market Kirby store (2955 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX) from Sept 27-28, 2012.
  • Food Safety Notification Update (EU #2012.1382): Salmonella Thompson in Foppen smoked salmon from Greece; distributed to Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.

Canada

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Withdrawal (Taiwan): Costco Wholesale has pulled from its Taiwan stores all smoked salmon processed by the Dutch company Foppen, as the products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a suspected food poisoning outbreak involving 16 people who developed gastroenteritis about 5 – 37 hours after dining at a restaurant in Qingdao on September 26.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis at a secondary school in Shatin involving 29 students between the ages of 10 and 13 years.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1398): Salmonella Montevideo in processed animal proteins from Belgium; distributed to Belgium, Germany and Thailand.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert (New Zealand): Middlemore Hospital (Auckland) has closed one ward and banned children from visiting after its norovirus outbreak expanded to affect 113 people, including 56 patients and 57 staff members.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Recalls and Alerts: October 2, 2012

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

For current information on retail distribution of peanut butter products recalled due to Salmonella Bredeney, please consult the Trader Joe’s/Sunland Peanut Butter Recalls tab.

For current information on retail distribution of beef products containing Canadian beef recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination please consult the Canada/USA Beef Recall tab.

United States

  • Allergy Alert: Whole Foods Market recalls Roasted Garlic and Eggplant Soup (24-oz containers; Sell by October 4, 2012), because the container actually hold Lobster Bisque and contain undeclared shellfish and milk. The recalled soup was sold in Whole Foods Market stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey between September 29 and October 2, 2012.
  • Food Safety Recall: Xan Confections recalls 13 of its peanut butter chocolate products, because the peanut butter may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products were distributed from May 28, 2012 through Sept. 28, 2012 at retail locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Nova Scotia (Canada), as well as over the Internet.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Grindstone Neck of Maine, LLC (Winter Harbor, ME) that a July/August 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns C.C. & Son Farms, Incorporated (Ripon, CA) that an April 2012 inspection of the company’s shell egg production facility found serious violations of the Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Petaluma Farms (Petaluma, CA) that a March-April 2012 inspection of the company’s shell egg production facilities found serious violations of the Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns The American Bottling Company, Inc. (Plano, TX) that a March 2012 inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility found serious violations of the juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Cape Florida Seafood, Inc. (Miami, FL) that a May-June 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing establishment found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall/Outbreak Alert Update: Saskatchewan Ministry of Health is investigating 13 cases of E. coli in the province to determine whether they are linked to the recall of E. coli O157:H7-contaminated beef from XL Foods. For an updated list of recalled beef, please consult the Canada/USA Beef Recall page.
  • Food Safety Recall: Nestle Canada Inc. recalls Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream (11.4L; Batch codes 22080375 BB 2014 07 26 & 22090375 BB 2014 07 27), due to Salmonella contamination. The recalled ice cream was distributed to hotels, restaurants and institutional clients in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (Denmark): Coop Trading A/S recalls Coop Penne Rigate Pasta (500g; Best before 19/9-2014) and Coop Spaghetti Pasta (1 kg; Best before 19/9-2014), due to the presence of undeclared egg.
  • Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Albert Heijn recalls the following Albert Heijn brand smoked salmon, manufactured by Foppen, due to Salmonella contamination: AH gerookte zalmblokjes, AH gerookte zalmfilet, AH gerookte zalmsnippers, AH sandwich zalmplakken, AH warmgerookte zalm, AH warmgerookte zalmstukken, AH zalmsalade, Euro Shopper gerookte zalmfilet, AH Excellent schotse zalmfilet, AH Excellent seizoenszalm, AH Excellent zalmhaasje gerookt, AH puur&eerlijk Sockey zalm.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): Lubna Foods Ltd. recalls Manzoor Dry Dates (25kg; Best before end December 2013) and Chuwara Supreme Dry Dates (6 x 1 kg; Batch 171 12; Best before 20 December 2013), because the products may be infested with insects.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): Lightbody Ventures Ltd. recalls all batch codes of Annabel Karmel Apple and Blackcurrant Oaty Chewy Bars bearing Disney characters (110g and 132g packs) and Annabel Karmel Apple and Raspberry Oaty Chewy Bars bearing Disney characters (110g and 132g packs), because the products may be infested with insects.
  • Food Safety Alert (Italy): The public prosecutor in Bari has ordered the seizure nationwide of the following cheeses manufactured by Fattorie Chiarappa, because cheese produced by this manufacturer was linked to an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in the USA: Ricotta frescolina marte tipo toscanella, Ricotta Torretta Marte, Ricotta frescolina Marte arrostita, Ricotta marzotica Marte tipo greca, and Ricotta marzotica Marte.
  • Food Withdrawal (Denmark): Rieber & Son Denmark A/S withdraws AH Sausage Ketchup (900g; Lot #3028437; Best before 24-02-2013), due to gas production in the product by lactic acid bacteria.
  • Outbreak Alert Update (Germany): The outbreak of acute gastroenteritis has grown to 10,008 confirmed cases in Brandenburg (3,132), Berlin (2,655), Sachsen (approx 3,200), Sachsen-Anhalt (57) and Thüringen (964). The outbreak patients are associated with canteens at 416 schools and child care centers in those states.
  • Outbreak Alert (Netherlands): BBC reports that approximately 200 people have become ill after consuming smoked salmon contaminated with Salmonella Thompson.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1373): Diazinon in yellow peas from Russia; distributed to Portugal and Spain.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2012.1374): Lack of clear allergen labeling on soft drink from Jamaica; distributed to United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1375): Suspected histamine in butterfish from Spain; distributed to Latvia.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1376): Tin in canned artichoke hearts from China; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1377): Salmonella typhimurium in chilled boneless beef from Lithuania; distributed to Sweden.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1379): Cadmium in large chilled dried anchovies from China; distributed to the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1381): Salmonella typhimurium in fresh chicken meat from France; distributed to France, Germany and Luxembourg.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1382): Salmonella Thompson in smoked salmon from Greece; distributed to the Netherlands.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1383): Listeria monocytogenes in ready to eat pork meat product from France; distributed to France and Switzerland.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2012.1384): Traces of egg in muffins from Hungary; distributed to Slovenia.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1385): Listeria monocytogenes in chilled ready to eat salad and side dishes from Denmark; distributed to Denmark and Sweden.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert (New Zealand): A Norovirus outbreak has sickened 45 patients and 45 staff members at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital according to a report from The New Zealand Herald. Children will be barred from the wards until the outbreak is over and the alert has been lifted.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.